


The Brave and the Bold and the Beautiful

by TheSecondBatgirl



Category: Avengers (Comic), Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Community: Theatrical Muse, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-15
Updated: 2011-12-15
Packaged: 2017-10-27 09:30:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/294257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/pseuds/TheSecondBatgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the things that Dick Grayson wanted to be doing that day, attending one of Bruce's stuffy gatherings was not even close to being on the top of his list. - Theatrical Muse AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Brave and the Bold and the Beautiful

Of all the things that Dick Grayson _wanted_ to be doing that day, attending one of Bruce's stuffy gatherings was not even close to being on the top of his list. (To be fair, the list mostly consisted of hanging out with the Titans, going out on patrol, saving the world, and maybe seeing if he could convince Babs to kiss him.) He was grumbling as he dressed up in the stuffy suit that Alfred had absolutely insisted he wear, and the tie hung untied around his neck.

"Master Dick," Alfred said as he popped into the room like magic. (Dick was still half-convinced that Alfred was secretly a meta-human or a mutant or had some sort of special ability to know exactly when and where he was needed, even if Alfred insisted it was just a skill discovered by all butlers to the superheroic community, although not with his degree of skill.) "I do wish that you would be more careful with your tie." With practiced ease, the butler set to work making sure that Dick was presentable, and Dick knew better than to try and squirm or get out of it. Alfred had enough to do that day with getting the manor completely ready for the fundraiser, but no detail was beneath his notice. There was no way that Alfred was going to allow Dick to be anything less than perfect, so he stood in silence as the noose tightened around his neck.

"How long do I need to be there?" he asked Alfred finally, after the critical inspection had finally ended. Maybe he would be able to sneak out at some point and go on a patrol.

"I believe that you'll need to be there for as long as Master Bruce is," Alfred answered vaguely.

Well, that was no help. Depending on what was going on, it could mean that Bruce was planning to sneak out early and go on patrol within minutes of the fundraiser being started. Or he could be on "emergencies only" duty, when he would only leave if the Bat signal lit up the sky. It was probably going to be the latter, and Dick wasn't crazy enough to wish for someone to break out of Arkham just so he could get out of going to a party. He didn't see why he had to go anyway, he was sick of being treated like a prop. He was supposed to be Bruce's partner in things, and instead it was just Bruce giving orders and Dick doing what he was told. It just wasn't _fair_.

"If it makes you feel better, Master Dick, I believe that a Mr. Stark and a Mr. Rogers will be attending, along with their daughter."

"Captain America? Here?" Dick's face lit up. He didn't have a lot of contact with the Avengers, and the Justice League were clearly the superior team, but Steve Rogers was _Captain America_. That was almost as great as Superman.

"He did send an RSVP, so he should be attending," Alfred said as he made his way out the door. He stopped. "I am certain that Master Bruce would appreciate you being on your best behavior tonight, not that you really need me to remind you of that." He looked sternly at Dick. "This fundraiser is an important one, as important as anything else you do here, just remember that. And if it will make it easier for you, then perhaps you should just consider it an extended exercise in undercover work."

"Thanks, Alfred," Dick laughed.

"Excellent," Alfred replied crisply. "Then I will expect you downstairs to start greeting your guests within the next few minutes."

*

It didn't matter how Alfred framed it. This was still a really boring party. Even Alfred's promise that Captain America would be attending seemed to have come to nothing. If he had arrived, then it hadn't been anywhere that Dick had seen. There had probably been a last minute emergency having to do with a Skrull Invasion, and he'd run off with the Avengers, or something. All that meant was that Dick had been stuck in the party with a bunch of adults who believed that since he was only sixteen, he was stupid. It was really annoying. What was worse were all of the women who thought that they could use him to get to Bruce. Not that Bruce was really interested anyway.

Dick could see him flirting with someone, probably a donor, and made his way out onto the balcony.

He sighed dramatically (the downside of being raised in the circus - he couldn't do anything unless it was in a dramatic fashion) and leaned on the balcony railing. This whole "mission" sucked.

"Nice view," a voice tittered from around him, and Dick whirled around, reflexively going into a fighting stance, not really sure at all how someone had managed to sneak up on him.

"Whoa, careful, I come in peace!" the girl said, raising her hands in mock surrender, and Dick relaxed his stance.

She was beautiful, with brown hair that hung slightly past her shoulders, and expressive brown eyes that Dick was sure were peering right into his soul. She was probably about his age, maybe slightly younger, but he didn't think he'd ever seen her before.

"Sorry about that," he said sincerely. "You just startled me, is all."

"I have that effect on people sometimes," she admitted. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Sally."

"Dick," he replied, only giving her as much information as she had given him.

"Dick?" she said, a bemused expression on her face. "Is that a comment on me, or..."

"No!" Dick said hurriedly. "It's my name. Short for Richard."

"That's cute," Sally said, her face lighting up. "I didn't realize anyone still shortened their name like that. What happened to Rich, or Richie?"

Dick shrugged. "It's my name," he said, slightly defensively. He'd heard all of this before, usually from Roy or Wally, and he was fairly immune to the criticism. This was the name that his parents had given him, and he was okay with that.

"Cool then," Sally told him. "So how did you get dragged to this thing?"

Dick couldn't tell if she was honestly trying to make conversation or if she was prying into things, but it was nice to have a conversation with someone who didn't seem to recognize him. Bruce had always tried to keep him out of the spotlight, but most people around Gotham still knew who he was. If she didn't, then this was definitely suspicious.

Still, she was only his age...

Donna would probably smack him for thinking that. She had more than proven that teenage girls could be incredibly dangerous.

"My guardian made me go," he said finally.

Sally nodded. "I figured. Mine too." She shrugged. "He was being all ridiculous about it, and made me promise not to make a scene. I'm like, I'm fourteen! I'll be fifteen soon! I totally know how to behave, but no, just because I'm a teenager it's like they think I can't do anything for myself." She rolled her eyes dramatically, and Dick smiled. "Besides," she continued in a rush. "They're all going on about how important it is for me to be here, but it's not like anyone notices except to try and get close to one of my dads, you know?"

"Oh, trust me, I understand," Dick agreed. "I've got the same problem."

"Adults can be so ridiculous sometimes." She leaned on the balcony railings for a moment, and shivered slightly. Her red dress had no sleeves, and it was freezing, but she made no move to go inside. Dick took off his jacket, and draped it around her shoulders.

"Here," he said softly. "You looked cold." Of course, now he was the one who was shivering.

Sally smiled at him. "Thanks," she said cheerfully, moving closer to him. "Not fair that you should have to be cold though," she added, as she leaned toward him.

He kissed her, gently. It wasn't his first kiss - there had been Babs, and Donna, and Roy. But they had all been kissing _Robin_ , and not him. This was his first kiss as Dick Grayson, and he savored every moment of it.

"Sally Stark-Rogers, what do you think you're doing?" a voice boomed from behind them, and the two teens broke apart.

"Daddy!" Sally protested, and Dick realized that she was talking to _Captain America_. Her name sunk in. Sally Stark-Rogers, the adopted daughter of Captain America and Iron Man. The most spoiled girl in America - Dick remembered years before, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with his parents, only to see that she and her fathers were on the float with Santa Claus. He'd been jealous of her then, because he would never get to do something like that. Of course, that had been before he and the other Teen Titans had helped rescue Santa Claus, so he'd clearly had no idea of what his life would become.

"Um, hi, Mr. Captain America Sir," he said in a rush. He extended his hand, which was shaking. He hadn't even been this nervous the first time that he had met Superman. Of course, he hadn't kissed Superman's daughter, so he guessed that there was a reason for why he was so nervous now.

"Steve?" another voice said, and Tony Stark, the Iron Man himself, appeared behind them, closely followed by Bruce. "Is there a problem here?"

"This," Captain America said, gesturing wildly at Dick, "was kissing our daughter!"

Dick was sure that he was blushing, and he hung his head slightly. He had wanted to meet Captain America so badly, the respect of the older hero was important to him.

Iron Man glanced over at him and shrugged. "That's your ward. Right, Wayne?" he asked Bruce, and Dick's head snapped up. He hadn't realized that Tony Stark knew who he was.

Bruce nodded, the playboy mask allowing him to look far more amused than he might otherwise be.

"Well then," Tony said. "Sally could certainly do far worse. Besides, this being Gotham, I could think of much more trouble that she could be getting into." He glanced at his daughter. "Come on, Sally," he said. "We should go before Steve has an aneurysm."

Sally sighed dramatically. "Okay," she said, before turning to Dick and kissing him thoroughly. "See you around, Dick," she called over her shoulder as she followed her dads back into the house.

Bruce placed a steadying hand on Dick's shoulder. "Don't even think about it, chum," he advised. "That girl is going to grow up to be a terror."

"Yeah," Dick agreed dreamily.


End file.
